Mother of infant abandoned in Sanford in custody

SANFORD -- The mother of a newborn abandoned at a Thai restaurant here early Thursday is in police custody, and the infant is in good condition at a local hospital.

Police investigators were able to track down the mother's identity by tracing a cell phone from which a 911 call was made, telling authorities where the child had been abandoned, said Captain Darrel Presley of the Sanford Police department.

Police received the call at 6:19 a.m. from an anonymous female stating that the infant had been abandoned at the Proy Thai Cuisine restaurant at 2520 S. French Ave. in Sanford. Police believe the call was made by the mother, a 17-year-old Seminole High School student. Police are not releasing her name because she is a juvenile.

Officers said they are almost certain the birth took place in the mother's home on Santa Barbara Drive where she lives with her parents. The house is about 500 feet from where the infant was abandoned. Police also were looking at a car the mother used to drive herself to Seminole High School about a mile away Thursday morning.

The mother, who is cooperating with investigators, has not been charged, Presley said. The mother was transported in an ambulance from the modest concrete block home about 10 a.m. Her father also was treated for high blood pressure, Presley said.

The officer who responded found the infant boy wrapped in a white T-shirt. She immediately took the shivering baby, wrapped him in a towel she retrieved from her car and placed him in her squad car until medical crews arrived.

Rescue crews estimate the child is less than 24 hours old, Presley said. The infant was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

The child is in custody of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office Child Protection Team, which investigates cased of child abuse, neglect and abandonment for the state Department of Children and Families, said Steve Olson, a sheriff's spokesman.

Presley lamented that the mother didn't drop the child off at any hospital or fire station, which is permitted under Florida law. A Sanford Fire station is located less than a mile north of where the child was abandoned.

Two hours after the call was made, there was little to indicate that the child had been left at the restaurant. The front doors were padlocked, and a security guard at a car lot next door said he heard and saw nothing unusual overnight.

He said he was awakened by something about 4 a.m. "I looked out and saw nothing," said Paul Miller, "But there are cars constantly whipping through that parking lot."